libby

3/4 Rye Whiskey (2 oz Sazerac)
1/8 Sherry (1/4 oz Lustau Amontillado + 1/4 oz Lustau PX)
1/8 Sweet Vermouth (1/2 oz Alessio)
1 dash Picon Bitters (1/4 oz Torani Amer)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Thursdays ago, I reached for Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933 and began scanning the whiskey recipes. There, I was lured in by the Libby with the sherry element reminding me of the Plymouth Street Harvest. I originally tried all Amontillado in the mix, but it was a bit too dry so I added in some Pedro Ximenez.
Once chilled and strained, the dual sherry Libby provided nutty, raisin, and dark orange aromas over rye whiskey notes. Next, grape and malt on the sip gave way to rye and nutty flavors on the swallow with raisin and bitter orange on the finish. Indeed, the Pedro Ximenez while providing the necessary sweetness overrode the Amontillado's more nutty notes with its raisiny flavors though. Perhaps a better balanced cream sherry such as Lustau's East India Solera would have worked better than this duo. Or perhaps doubling the Picon for its sweetness or spiking in a dash of simple syrup with the Amontillado would have worked well too.